Our series examining an Image of the Week from the photographic files, by Kevin Warstadt, Edward Connery Lathem ’51 Digital Library Fellow.

Woman with baby elephant, circa 1954

No information is provided as to the identity of the woman or the elephant in this photo. However, it’s possible that the elephant is Queenie of the Rare Bird and Animal Farm of Fairlee, Vermont.

The Rare Bird and Animal Farm was founded by Bill Green in the early 1950s. Green, the child of a wealthy New Jersey family, developed a love of the outdoors at an early age. As an adult he began to travel, collecting animals on his many trips across the world. He purchased the Brackett Farm in Fairlee to house his growing collection of exotic animals, Queenie among them. The farm was opened to the public in 1954 at 75 cents admission.

Queenie was born in 1952 in Siam (now Thailand). She was purchased by Green in 1953 from Trefflich’s Pet Shop, New York City. She lived at the Rare Bird and Animal farm until 1967, and was introduced to water skiing by Marj and Jim Rusing of De Leon Springs, Florida, during this time. The unique performance earned the elephant and her owners some fame, and she became known as “The World’s Only Water Skiing Elephant.”

After the closure of the Rare Bird and Animal Farm, Queenie spent a number of years in various circuses. She was retired from the circus in 2003 and lived out the rest of her days at Wild Adventures theme park in Valdosta, GA.